Wax absorbent ribbon for stencil cutting machine



Oct. 11, 1966 J. A. WEBER ETAL 3,277,991

WAX ABSORBENT RIBBON FOR STENCIL CUTTING MACHINE Filed Sept. 29, 1964 Oct. 11, 1966 J. A. WEBER ETAL 3,277,991

WAX ABSORBENT RIBBON FOR STENCIL CUTTING MACHINE Filed Sept. 29, 1964 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 United States Patent 3,277,991 WAX ABSORBENT RIBBON FOR STENCEL CUTTING MACHINE Joseph A. Weber, Prospect Heights, and Richard W. Jackson, Arlington Heights, Iii; said Jackson assignor to Weber Marking Systems, Inc., a corporation of Illinois Filed Sept. 29, 1964, Ser. No. 400,257 1 Claim. (61. 1976.4)

This invention relates to a new and improved wax absorbent ribbon for stencil cutting machines.

The cutting of stencils in modern oflice procedures has been limited to typewriters and to hand operated tools such as a stylus. In both instances the removal of the stencil coating which constitutes the cutting of the stencil has merely been with lined letters or characters. In no instance has there been any large areas of the stencil coating removed in the formation of letters or characters to be subsequently imprinted by expelling ink through the coating removed portions of the stencil. The coating of a modern stencil is an emulsion which is placed over a porous tissue base. This emulsion which is permitted to solidify after application to the porous tissue base prevents ink from passing through the stencil material. Therefore, the removal of portions of this emulsion permits ink to pass through the porous tissue base in a uniform manner to cause an imprinting of those portions of the stencil which have had the coating removed. For purposes of convenience herein the emulsion coating although not strictly a wax will be hereafter termed a wax coating and it should be understood that this application is concerned with such a wax coating removal.

A principal object of the present invention is to provide a novel machine for cut-ting stencils with broad surfaced characters and employing means for removing the waxlike stencil coating so that there will be no impairment of the cutting mechanisms in the machine in the cutting of succeeding characters in a stencil.

An important object of this invention is the provision of novel ribbon means for absorbing the stencil coating during the cutting of indicia in a stencil. The terms absorbing or absorbent used herein are intended to include any material which will cause the stencil waxlike coating to be adhered thereto whether on or within the material.

Another important object of this invention is to equip a stencil cutting machine with a novel wax absorbent ribbon movable in increments longitudinally of the machine in response to actuation of the machine in the cutting of individual characters in a stencil to be out.

Another and still further important object of this invention is to provide a novel stencil cutting machine with means for holding a stencil to be cut, means for adjustably positioning type characters in a preselected relationship with the stencil to be cut and a wax absorbent ribbon arranged to lie longitudinally of the characters or letters to be cut and thereupon incrementally driving the ribbon in the same longitudinal direction to present a succeeding area of ribbon to absorb the wax from the cutting of the next character in the stencil.

A still further important object of this invention is the provision of means to adjustably control the degree of incremental movement of a stencil coating absorbing ribbon so that the incremental movement may be adjusted to conform to the size of type used in the cutting of the stencil.

Other and further important objects and advantages will be apparent from the disclosures in the following specification and accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view of the stencil cutting machine of this invention.

FIGURE 2 is a side elevational view of the stencil cutting machine of FIGURE 1 with the auxiliary frame swung away from its superposed position over the main frame as shown in FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is a longitudinal front to back sectional view taken through the stencil cutting machine of FIG- URE 1.

FIGURE 4 is a front elevational view of the device as shown in FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 5 is a side elevational view of the stencil cutting machine of this invention opposite to that shown in FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 6 is a top plan view of the stencil cutting machine as shown in FIGURE 2 with the auxiliary frame in an outwardly swung position.

As shown in the drawings:

The reference numeral 10 indicates generally a main frame or supporting structure which is preferably made as a metal casting. The frame 10 is substantially hollow in order to minimize the weight of the machine and to provide for a housing for the operating parts of the stencil cutting machine. The main frame 10 is provided with spaced apart front feet or table engaging pads 11 and 11a. Similarly the supporting structure 10 is provided with spaced apart rear feet or table engaging pads 12 and 12a so that the main frame is supported in a stable manner to permit the cut-ting of stencils thereon. The main frame 10 is provided with upper side edges 13 which act to receive a generally flat horizontally disposed stencil receiving table 14. It is on this table that the stencil to be cut is placed.

The table 14 is arranged and constructed to be incrementally adjusted longitudinally relative to the top 13 of the supporting structure 10. An aperture 14a is provided in a generally central portion of the table 14 for the purpose of permitting the application of substantial pressures upwardly through the table to engage the stencil and thereupon effect a cutting thereof by reason of the stencil engaging type characters. The type characters will subsequently be described .and shown to be arranged and positioned above the table aperture. The longitudinal incremental movement of the table 14 thus provides for the line spacing of the stencil as it is being cut with various indicia.

A stencil clamping means 15 is mounted on the forward edge of the table 14 and is arranged and constructed to have transverse sliding movement therealong. The stencil clamping elements are shown at 15a and 15b. An edge of a stencil to be cut is placed between the gripping members 15a and 1512 while the body portion of the stencil is adapted to extend rearwardly over the table 14. The clamping member 15 is arranged to be incrementally moved along the forward edge of the table 14 to thereupon obtain proper letter spacing for the stencil indicia.

The main frame or supporting structure 10 is provided with spaced apart hinge ears 16 and 16a which project generally upwardly at the rear thereof. A hinge pin 17 is disposed generally transversely of the main frame 10 and passes through aligned apertures in the spaced apart hinge cars 16 and 16a. An auxiliary frame or supporting structure 18 is arranged and constructed to be hingedly mounted relative to the main frame 10 in such a manner that the auxiliary frame may be positioned in a superposed position over the main frame as shown in FIG- URES 1, 3, 4 and 5 or in an outwardly swung position such as shown in. FIGURES 2 and 6. The auxiliary frame is provided with spaced apart rearwardly projecting ears 18a and 18b which are joined by a cross member 18c at their outer ends. The spaced apart ears 18a and 18b are provided with aligned apertures to permit the passage therethrough of the hinge pin 17 such as particularly shown in FIGURE 6. The cars 18a and 18b are adapted to lie between and in generally closely abutting relationship to the inner edges of the spaced apart cars 16 and 1601 respectively which form a part of the base main frame 10. Thus the auxiliary frame 18 is hingedly mounted relative to the main frame about the hinge pin 17 so that as preivously stated the auxiliary frame may be disposed in either a position where it is in close superposition relative to the main frame or outwardly swung away from its position over the stencil receiving table on the main frame.

The auxiliary frame is adapted to carry a disc 19 on its underside. The outer periphery of the disc has embossed type characters 20 thereon such as shown in FIG- URES 3 and 6. A hand engaging knob 21 is provided at the top of the auxiliary frame 13 and by means of a set screw or pin 22 is adapted to be afiixed to a generally vertically disposed spindle 23 on which the disc 13 is mounted for concurrent rotation. The spindle 23 is journally supported within a generally vertically disposed and elongated bushing 18d of the auxiliary frame 18. Thus the type carrying disc 19 may be manually rotated by an engagement of the hand knob 21 to thereupon place any one of the type characters 20 in proper position to act as the means for cutting or removing the stencil coating in this machine. A generally centrally disposed block 18s is bolted to the auxiliary frame 18 as shown at 18 at the front center position of the auxiliary frame. It is beneath this block 18e that the selected type character 20 on the disc 19 must be placed in order to effect a stencil cutting in this machine.

The main frame 10 is provided with generally cylindrically shaped bosses 24 and 24:: formed on both sides thereof as shown in FIGURE 6. These sleeve-like bosses are internally threaded. The auxiliary frame 18 is provided with similarly transversely spaced apart bosses 25 and 25a which are each provided with apertures arranged and constructed to lie in axial alignment With the internally threaded holes in the sleeves 24 and 24a on the main frame when the auxiliary frame is in superposed position over the stencil receiving table 14 of the main frame. Cap screws 26 and 26a are employed to pass through the apertures in the wing-like bosses 25 and 25a of the auxiliary frame 18 for threaded engagement with the internal threads in the sleeve-like bosses 24 and 24a of the main frame to thereupon rigidly hold the auxiliary frame in fixed position relative to the main frame as it is shown in FIGURES 1, 3 4 and 5 of the drawings. When it is desired to gain access to the type carrying disc 19 for replacement or servicing or to gain more ready access to the operating mechanisms of the device to be subsequently described, the cap screws 26 and 26a are removed and the auxiliary frame 18 swung upwardly and rearwardly such as shown in FIGURES 2 and 6. In this open position it is obvious that the movable type carrying mechanism may be entirely removed and replaced with different sizes or styles of type or may be merely cleaned or serviced as necessary. When the machine is again to be used in its stencil cutting function the auxiliary frame is swung downwardly about its hinge 17 and the cap screws 26 and 26a replaced. In this closed position the stencil may be cut. The cutting operation utilizes a back-up block or plate 182 to contain the pressure which is utilized to impress the stencil against the particular type character 20 to be cut in the stencil.

The device of this invention is operated by a lever 27 having a hand engaging knob or handle 28 such as shown in FIGURES 4 and 6. The lever 27 is bent at right angles as shown in FIGURE 6 so that its right angle extension indicated by the numeral 29 constitutes a shaft which is journally supported in bushings 29a and 29b mounted respectively in the spaced apart ears 16 and 16a of the main frame at a position spaced forwardly of the hinge pin 17 and generally near the bottom of the main frame. Adjustable collars 290 are arranged on the 4 shaft 29 to flank both sides of the wall member 16 whereby the shaft may be accurately adjusted within the frame.

As best shown in FIGURES 3 and 6 the shaft 29 has mounted thereon a lever 30 which in a non-actuating position is as shown in full lines in FIGURE 3. When the hand lever 27-28 is pulled forwardly toward the stencil receiving table 14 the lever arm 30 is rocked to a position as shown in dashed lines in FIG. 3 by reason of rotation of the shaft 29. An adjustable screw 30a is threadedly carried by the crank 30 and is adapted to limit the throw of the hand lever 27-28. The screw 30a is arranged to engage a lug 30b formed integrally with the frame structure 10. Greater or lesser arcuate movement may be accomplished by greater or lesser extensions of the end of the threaded set screw 30a. A link means 31 comprises spaced apart arm members 31a and 31b which are fastened by means of a cross pin 32 to the upper end of the lever arm 30. This link means 31 extends forwardly within the base housing 10 for ultimate connection to a pressure urging roller mechanism 33. The roller mechanism 33 includes an outer race member 33a, a plurality of anti-friction ball members 3312 and an inner race or hub 330 as best shown in FIGURE 6. The hub 33c is substantially wider than the outer race 33a and the extensions formed on both sides of the centrally located roller are utilized to cooperate with a cammed surface to cause a raising of the roller mechanism 33 for the purpose of applying pressures through the aperture 14a in the stencil receiving table 14 to cause stencil cutting in a manner to be subsequently described. The link members 31a and 31b are bent or flared outwardly intermediate their ends as shown at 31c and their forward ends 31d flank the outer sides of the hub 330. A rivet or pin means 34 fastens the link arms 31a and 31b to the hub 330. A rocking movement of the lever arm 30 from its full line position to the dashed line position as shown in FIGURE 3 will cause the roller mechanism 33 to move forwardly in the device of this invention.

The cam mechanism constitutes a generally U-shaped block member 35 with spaced apart track or rail members 35a and 35b. The rearward ends of the rails 35a and 3512 have their top surfaces 350 inclined upwardly and forwardly whereupon the top surfaces are generally horizontally disposed as shown at 35d at their outer forward ends. It is upon these track-like surfaces 35a and 35b that the laterally extending hub portions 330 of the roller means 33 ride to cause the roller means through its outer race 33a to exert substantial pressures upwardly through the aperture 14a in the stencil holding table 14. The generally U-shaped block 35 with a base 35a is confined by longitudinally spaced apart bosses 36 and 37 which form a part of the base housing 10. A bottom plate 38 is fastened to the longitudinally spaced boss members 36 and 37 by cap screws 39 and define a space 40 within which is carried a mechanism to cause accurate vertical adjustment of the block member 35 so that various thicknesses of stencil sheets may be accommodated and so that only the stencil coating is removed in the stencil cutting process without causing damage to the porous base tissue sheet of the stencil.

The chamber 40 includes a longitudinally adjustable Wedge block 41 the inclined top surface of which lies against the similarly inclined lower surface of the bottom 35e of the generally U-shaped block 35. These mating inclined surfaces provide the wedge adjusting means for the micrometer-like vertical positioning of the block 35. An elongated screw member 42 is threadedly engaged to and within the wedge block 41. As shown in FIGURE 3 the block 41 abuts the end boss 36 and thus has raised the block 35 its maximum distance. The block 35 may be lowered by rotating the screw 42 and causing the Wedge block 41 to move forwardly in the chamber 40 to thus permit the block 35 to drop. The adjustment is preferably made by manually insertinga screw driver through an aperture 43 in the front skirt of the housing 10 and into a screw slot 44 in the forward end of the elongated screw 42.

In the operation of the device of this invention a stencil 45 to be cut is placed on the table 14. The clamp elements 15a and 15b are separated by depressing a handle 150 of the member 1511 about a hinge 15d. A spring 15s is arranged about the hinge 15d in a manner to cause the jaws 15a and 15b to be urged together. An incrementally releasable ratchet mechanism 46 is disposed intermediate the table 14 and the clamping member 15 such that the clamping member may be adjustably moved transversely of the table 14. The stencil 45 extends beneath the block 18a of the auxiliary frame 18 and has individual type characters 20 cut therein at that position. The desired letter is selected and then manually positioned beneath the block 18c by rotation of the hand knob 21. Now the hand lever 27-28 is swung forwardly causing the pressure roller to be cammed upwardly and thence longitudinally of the opening 14a. The roller causes the stencil sheet to be rolled against a selected letter on the disc 19 with the block 18:: as the reactance member. In order that the selected letter 20 be centered in the stencil cutting location the disc 19 is locked in position by a locking pin 47 moving into engagement in socket apertures 47a in the disc 19 thereupon prohibiting rotation of the disc 19. The device is arranged to automatically lock during application of the stencil cutting pressures by the roller means 33. A second ratchet means 48 is mounted longitudinally of the base beneath the table 14 so that upon completion of one line of stencil cutting indicia the entire table 14 may be longitudinally adjusted so that a uniformly spaced succeeding line may be cut.

A ribbon 49 may be utilized to absorb the emulsion coating of the stencil during its removal from a particular letter outline. The ribbon 49 may be incrementally advanced by means 50 in response to operation of the stencil cutting. Obviously with the hinged auxiliary frame of this construction the user may readily replace the type carrying disc 19 by opening the auxiliary frame about its hinge 17 after first removing the cap screws 26.

A coil spring 101 surrounds the rod 47 and is disposed between a flange 102 on a lower supporting bracket 103 and a shoulder 104 on the rod 47 spaced upwardly therefrom. The spring thus normally urges the rod 47 up wardly. A cam-1ike detent 105 passes through a cross notch or opening 47a in the indexing rod 47 and normally engages the top side of a roller 10012 journalled on the pin 100a within the rod 47 and in one position thereof holds the indexing rod or pin 47 down and free from engagement with the type carrying wheel or disc 1. A crank 106 is mounted on the shaft 29 and carries the cam-detent 105. When the hand lever 2728 is swung forwardly, the cam-detent 105 is moved forwardly through the center of the rod 47. As shown in FIGURE 3 the underside of the cam-detent 105 has a quickly receding surface 107 which permits the indexing rod 47 to move upwardly. A guide roller 105a is mounted on the supporting structure 10 and acts to guide the cam-detent 105 through the indexing rod 47. As may be seen in FIGURE 6 the table 14 is provided with a rearwardly opening elongated notch 14b to permit the longitudinal indexing thereof without interference with the indexing pin 47.

The present invention is concerned with the ribbon 49 which will absorb or hold in some manner wax-like stencil coating materials when large surfaced letter characters are cut in stencils by the cutter described above. The ribbon may be a fabric ribbon or it might be a plastic or other composition which will serve to remove the waxlike stencil coating at the time of stencil cutting so that the type or other character embossments 20 on the disc 19 will not become clogged with wax buildup and ultimately impair the stencil cutting operation. It has and shall be stated that the ribbon is wax absorbent. This is intended to mean that the ribbon will hold the wax-like coating either on its surface or in its interior. The ribbon 49 must further not be such as to prevent the type on the disc 19 from being clearly and accurately reproduced in the stencil during the cutting thereof.

A supply of ribbon 49 is mounted on a spool 121 which in turn is carried on a shaft 122 on the top front of the machine. The shaft 122 is journally mounted in a transverse position in spaced supporting members 123 and 124. As shown in FIGURE 4 a knurled knob 125 is provided on an outer extension of the shaft 122 and provides for the manual rotation of the ribbon carrying spool 121. From the spool 121 the ribbon progresses downwardly through a vertically disposed guide member 126. The guide member is provided with spaced side members 127 and 128 which define a centrally disposed vertical passageway just slightly wider than the width of the ribbon 49. The ribbon 129 then passes beneath the lower edge 129 of the guide member 126 and thence longitudinally rearwardly beneath the block member 18c and across the type carrying disc 19 and out the rear thereof for winding on a take-up spool 130. The guide member 126 is fastened by means of screws 131 to the auxiliary frame structure 18.

The take-up spool at the rear of the auxiliary frame 13 is mounted on a shaft 132 which is journally suported on a bracket member 133 which in turn is attached to the auxiliary supporting structure 18. The bracket member 133 is fastened by means of screws 134 or the like to the frame support 18 as shown in FIG- URE 3.

A small grooved pulley 135 is mounted on the shaft 132 at a position on the other side of the supporting bracket 130. An endless spring type belt 136 is carried in the groove of the pulley 135 and projects downwardly for engagement with a somewhat larger diameter grooved pulley 137 mounted on a shaft 138. The shaft 138 is carried on an arm 139 which is hingedly mounted at 140 on the supporting structure 18. A block 141 is Welded or otherwise formed on one side of the bracket 133 in generally planar alignment with the pulley carrying arm 139. A coil spring 142 is disposed between the block 141 and the hinged arm 139 and is adapted to exert a downward force on the arm 139 to thus maintain the belt 136 sufliciently taut to impart rotational drive from the pulley 137 to the pulley 135. This causes the take-up spool 130 to be rotatably driven. A socket 139a is provided in the top of the arm 139 to receive and guide the lower end of the coiled extension spring 142.

The crank 106 is part of a bell crank lever 143 which is rockable about the shaft 29. The crank 106 forms one part of the bell crank 143. A rearwardly extending crank 144 forms an angularly disposed portion of the bell crank 143 and at its rearward end 144a is adapted to ride on a pin 145 which is carried in a generally vertically disposed link arm 146. The link arm 146 is pivotally attached at 147 to a disc-like member 148 mounted on a shaft 149. A spring 150 is fastened to a pin 151 at the lower end of the connecting link 146 and :at its upper end is fastened to the end of a link arm to be subsequently described whereby the connecting link 146 is constantly urged in an upward direction. When the stencil cutting machine of this invention is operated to cut a stencil by reason of the forward pulling of the hand lever 27-28 to thereupon rock the shaft 29 the bell crank 143 is simultaneously rocked and moved in a counterclockwise direction as viewed in FIGURE 3 as indicated by the arrow 152. This then causes the outer end 144a of the bell crank arm 144 to be raised from the pin 145 thus permitting the spring 150 to pull the link 146 upwardly. The disc 148 is part of a conventional one-way clutch 148a shown in the form of a drum mounted over the saft 149 and closely adjacent to the disc 148. The one-way clutch is arranged whereby upward movement of the link 146 does not cause rotational drive to be imparted to the shaft 149. However, when the cutting operation for a particular letter is completed the operating lever 27-28 is swung rearwardly causing the end 144a of the bell crank arm 144 to be moved downwardly thus striking the pin 145 and 7 moving the link 146 downwardly to its posit-ion as shown in FIGURE 3. The clutch 1480 is so arranged that downward movement of the link 146 imparts incremental rotation of the shaft 149 in the direction of the arrow 153.

The throw of the connecting link 146 may be changed by the employment of an adjustably positionable pin 154 within an elongated slot 155 in a central portion of the connecting link 146, In the position of the device as shown in FIGURE 3 the connecting link 146 is barred from any upward movement even after the bell crank arm 144 is raised because of the bottom end of the slot 155 is in direct contact with the pin 154. The higher the pin 154 is positioned in the elongated slot 155 the greater is the throw or travel of the connecting link 146 and thus also the greater the arcuate rotation of the shaft 149. The pin 154 is mounted On the outer end of a crank arm 156 which also carries the upper end of the spring 150. The other end of the crank arm 156 is hinged on a transversely disposed shaft 157 which is journally supported in the side frame member 16a of the main frame as shown in FIGURE 6. A collar 158 is mounted on the shaft 157 and acts to maintain the crank 156 spaced from the side wall of the frame 10. The shaft 157 projects outwardly of the wall member 16a and has a crank arm 159 mounted thereon in a position to preferably correspond .in angular position to that of the crank arm 156. A thumb-type set screw 160 threadedly engages the outer end of the crank arm 159 and provides the means for locking the crank arm 159 in any desired arcuate position by screwing the thumb screw inwardly to abut the side frame 16a. Thus, the positioning of the throw limit pin 154 is adjusted by a loosening of the thumb screw and a swinging of the arm 159 thereof which simultaneously causes a shifting of the arm 156 which in turn carries the limit pin 154.

The shaft 149 is carried transversely in the machine between and in the frame ears 16 and 16a. The shaft 149 lies parallel to and spaced above and rearwardly of the shaft 29. As previously stated the shaft 149 carries the one-way clutch 148-148a. A milled roller 161 is mounted on and driven by the shaft 149 in a generally central position. In closed operating position of the machine the milled roller 161 is in abutting relationship with the ribbon 49 and as the roller is incrementally driven it imparts movement to the ribbon 49. A roller 162 is mounted on the spring biased shaft 138 and acts as a guide for the ribbon 49 as it leaves the underside of the disc 19 and runs up to the take-up spool 130. The roller 162 is urged into engagement with the milled roller 161 by action of the same spring 142 which causes a tautness of the drive belt 136. As the ribbon 49 and roller 162 are driven so also is the grooved pulley 137, This in turn drives the take-up pulley and thus insures movement of the wax absorbent ribbon through the machine from supply spool to take-up spool.

We are aware that numerous details of construction may be varied throughout a wide range without departing from the principles disclosed herein and We therefore do not propose limiting the patent granted hereon otherwise than as necessitated by the appended claim.

What is claimed is:

In a stencil cutting machine comprising a supporting structure, a generally horizontally disposed stencil receiving table carried on said supporting structure, said table having a stencil cutting area with an aperture therein, movable type means disposed above said table for presenting any desired type to said area with the aperture therein, said movable type means including a disc with embossed type characters thereon, a spindle journally supported in said supporting structure in a generally vertically disposed position, means for rotating said disc to thereupon place any one of the embossed type characters in position over said aperture, means exerting pressure upwardly through the table aperture, a spool carried on a transversely disposed shaft at the top front of the stencil cutting machine, a supply of stencil coating absorbent ribbon mountedon said spool, said ribbon progressing vertically downwardly from the spool and thence longitudinally rearwardly across said disc and out the rear thereof, a take-up spool at the rear of the stencil cutting machine mounted on a shaft which is journally supported for rotation, said ribbon extending out the rear of the disc and then to said take-up spool, the portion of said ribbon extending across the disc interposed between a stencil to be cut and the movable type means, means indexing a stencil across said table area with the aperture therein, and means incrementally advancing said ribbon responsive to the operation of the means indexing the stencil, and said means to incrementally advance said ribbon member comprising a one-way clutch and a milled drive roller adapted to incrementally drive said take-up spool.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 115,763 6/1871 Moody 1976.4 1,131,956 3/1915 Remnsnider 197-6.7 1,146,852 7/1915 Dick 10l-128.4 1,164,750 12/1915 Remnsnider l97-6.7 1,357,090 10/1920 Hasbrouck 197-6.4 1,958,764 5/1934 Mosfett et al 197-168 X 2,067,702 1/1937 Marsh 1976.7 2,300,297 10/1942 Lampson 1976.4 2,324,662 7/1943 Aairon 101-128.4 X 2,331,978 10/1943 Hempel et al 1976.7 X 2,815,110 12/1957 Carlson 197-151 ROBERT E. PULFREY, Primary Examiner.

DAVID KLEIN, Examiner.

EDGAR S. BURR, Assistant Examiner. 

